Oakland Toxic Tour

Toxic Tour Blog: Inside West Oakland’s ‘Breathmobile’

By |

By Kwan Booth
Crowdfund this with Spot.Us
Part of the Bay Area Toxic Tour
Talking to Dr. Washington Burns the other day I learned some pretty shocking information: 37 percent of the adults and 20 percent of the kids living in West Oakland have asthma and children living in this community are seven times more likely to be hospitalized for breathing related illness than any other children in California. And Alameda County as a whole is no prize, with one of the highest overall hospitalization rates among 5-17 year old youth. I learned this bit of info while sitting inside the Breathmobile, the new mobile asthma testing facility run by the Prescott Joseph Center, where Dr. Burns is executive director. And while the numbers are shocking on the first mention, it’s something West Oakland residents have been battling for a years. For the last 14 years the Prescott Joseph Center has been somewhat of an oasis for west Oakland residents seeking information on a variety of health and wellness issues.

Featured

Share These Wheels

By |

A bike-sharing program in Paris will scatter tens of thousands of two-wheelers (right) throughout the City of Lights for quick jaunts and rentals. It’s the latest in a global trend towards more bicycle infrastructure, driven by hard economic times and fears of climate change. Photo: ktylerconk

Economy

Two Wheels to the World

By |

Pedal power is getting new respect worldwide, as concerns about climate change and hard economic times make bicycling increasingly popular. In Paris, “bike sharing” gives riders access to thousands of two-wheelers around the city, a service that is also gaining momentum in Mexico, Brazil and Canada. The women’s blog prettytough.com even calls bike sharing “the new public transportation.” Bicycling is also getting a big push from Asian governments. South Korea’s president wants to make his country “a bicycle heaven,” The Korea Times reports, while Time Magazine chimes in with news that Taiwan’s leader hopes to create “a cycling paradise” in his island nation.

Featured

Oakland is Exhausted

By |

Diesel exhaust from trucks serving the Port of Oakland brought confrontational protests to a May 2 public meeting (right). Our latest collaboration with SPOT.US takes a multimedia look at the conflict, in the first part of a series on pollution and communities. Photo: Kim Komenich for Newsdesk.org